Solargraphy????

Why does bw paper make a color image? Can someone please explain how/why this works? Wouldn't the image degrade once you took it out of the camera/scanned it/contact printed it? How do you preserve the image?

You don't preserve the image; scanning it or photographing it is the only way. If you developed them, you'd end up with a black piece of paper. If you fixed them, you'd end up with nothing. The images don't degrade immediately, however, because it takes a tremendous amount of light to print B&W paper out like that.

As for why they make a color (or pseudo-color image, anyway), I have no idea, but I'd like to know myself. Solargraphs are pretty cool.

I put some scissors on a test strip and exposed it for a while for an image to form. Threw it in the fixer and the image faded, but did not dissapear. I think if I gave it extra exposure and then fixed I might be able to get a permanant solartype. Defenately worth a try.

I put some scissors on a test strip and exposed it for a while for an image to form. Threw it in the fixer and the image faded, but did not dissapear. I think if I gave it extra exposure and then fixed I might be able to get a permanant solartype. Defenately worth a try.

I found scrap sheet of Slavic Unibrom paper in a folder with some crooked, improperly exposed, and otherwise ruined prints. that sheet apparently had a sheet of 35mm negatives on it while I was working in the darkroom. there's a faint green outline around the sprockets. It's kinda cool. I probably wouldnt have thought about it if I hadnt read this thread first

Hello EASmithV,looked at your flickr site and there is some very good and interesting photo's there you have.About color in B&w paper not to long ago I had mistakenly filled a tray with hypo clear in stead of fixer,not knowing what I'd done went ahead and made a print. Turned on the light with the print still in what I thought was fixer and saw a brilliant blue print turn black before my eyes. Haven't tried repeating the mistake,must be something in the hypo clear that gave the print a very blue color.